Consumer Shopping Habits for Wellness and Environmentally ...

Non-food pet supplies have very little relationship to H+W. While some Core consumers will avoid
man-made objects such as rubbery chew-toys, such pet-enthused Core consumers are, again,
somewhat rare. We do find some experimenting with flushable and/or more natural forms of kitty
litter, but at the same time, we have not found many sticking with such products.
Purchase Criteria
When consumers are interested in more natural options, they do tend to move toward human grade
foods and, to some degree, organic ingredients in pet foods, avoiding ―fillers‖ (e.g. anything with
―meal‖ in its name). However, for the vast majority of the population, pet food is purchased largely
based on price and whether the pet will eat the food. Purchases tend to be highly habitual due to
such pet preferences (―he eats it and I‘m sticking with it‖).
In non-food pet items that are not purchased often, price declines as an overriding priority for many,
and purchases are largely based on demonstrated pet preferences. Pet preferences also drive nonfood
items that are frequently purchased such as kitty litter, though there is of course more a price
focus here given the repetitive nature of purchases.
With most other products examined until now, effectiveness is top of mind as the most important
purchase factor other than price. For pet food however, it is the purity or healthiness of the product
that is the most important factor (45%), though this is likely augmented by fairly recent pet foods
―scares‖ (e.g. Chinese-manufactured pet foods with toxic ingredients). The Core consumer
especially feels stronger about the purity and healthiness of pet food compared to the other
segments. The Core also is more likely to view supporting socially responsible companies and the
environmental impact of the product as more important than the other segments.
Figure 93 – Most Important Purchase Factors Other Than Price
Purity or healthiness of something that goes in or on
the body
45%
Effectiveness (works well, etc.)
41%
Availability (I can find it easily where I shop)
40%
Ease of use
14%
Lack of irritants (skin, eye, lung, etc.)
Supporting companies/brands that have good practices
(such as doing business fairly and treating workers
well)
Environmental impact of the product
8%
4%
13%
Q32: “When you buy Pet supplies, what are the most important factors OTHER than price/value? Please check your top TWO
choices” | Base: Pet supplies shoppers (n=341). | Source: GMDC 2009 Survey, Mar. 2009.
106